


Motor Scooters and Gelato

by fireolin



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), First Kiss, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, One-Shot, Pizza, Reunions, Romance, gelato
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 01:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7993549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireolin/pseuds/fireolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gon and Killua have one day together. Gon tries his best to confess to Killua, but the world keeps interfering.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Motor Scooters and Gelato

**Author's Note:**

> Many many thanks to Nobuhiko_Satori, who kindly beta'd this for me. And many thanks to Arivael, who gave it a last pass before I posted.
> 
> The one-shot I never planned to write, made from holiday scribbles I thought I'd throw out. xD I hope you enjoy it.

_I just need the right moment_ …

Gon filled his lungs with the fresher air in this part of the city. It was late afternoon, the sun was getting low and the heat was finally receding. His limbs were moving loosely and he felt freer climbing the ancient road to the piazza than when he and Killua had been confined in the narrow streets behind them. To one side of the road, a tall stone wall hid a garden and private buildings. On the other, a low wall protected the drop to a tangled garden filled with trees that made a broad green canopy over their heads.

They passed the other tourists effortlessly. Killua tipped his head back and tossed the last of his gelato down his throat. His eighth since this morning.

Gon grinned to himself. Killua arched a brow at him. “Well, since I’m leaving tomorrow, I have to make the most of it. Besides, you had a whole bag of biscotti.”

“But Killua, _you_ had three whole pizzas.”

Killua’s cheeks flushed a little. “Gon—we shared the pizza.”

“Mm…yeah.”

He let go of a shallow sigh. They’d competed to see who could demolish the most of the first two, then they’d ordered a third. The waiter had set it down between them with a flourish - it was heart-shaped. Killua had stared, pink rising in his pale cheeks, head dipping so his bangs veiled his thoughts. When he looked up again, his blue eyes found Gon’s and their soft unguarded expression had Gon reaching across for his hand without even thinking—then something smashed on the tiles nearby. They both…jumped. The moment had broken. Gon had gulped down the cheap red wine. Thinking about it now, he could still taste the thick bitterness of the tannins.

They only had today. If he couldn’t tell Killua how he felt before they parted in the morning, when would there be another chance? “One day together…it isn’t long enough, Killua.”

“I know.” Killua scuffed away a pebble. “There’s plenty we haven’t done.”

A gust of wind ruffled Gon’s hair. It carried the distant growl of motor scooters behind them. He just needed the right moment.

They launched themselves up the first flight of stairs. The treads were wide and interrupted every so often with a landing where pedestrians could sit on the low wall and rest next to the garden. Butterflies fluttered in Gon’s stomach as he let Killua pass him a little, enough to watch his bare shoulders and the back of his neck move through the dappled light. His soft charcoal top had an artful slit down the back, tied together with a few cords, which let Gon glimpse the movement of his shoulder-blades and spine. The fabric rippled loosely over his cropped cotton pants. He was all nonchalant elegance, tousled hair catching the sun, blue eyes sparkling sideways as Gon caught up to him again. Sometimes, when Gon looked at him, all his words disappeared.

Gon inhaled and he could feel it, the shine of a moment that slipped into existence the way the sun glinted from a drop of ocean spray. “Killua…”

“Mm?”

A hen cackled somewhere behind the tall stone wall. Gon rolled his eyes at himself. “Heh—hens! In the middle of the city!”

“Gon, we’re not here for the hens.”

Gon’s stomach twisted. But Killua’s voice was warm and affectionate. He seemed relaxed and carefree this afternoon, not even concealing his hands in his pockets like he often did. He bounced up a couple more stairs in front of Gon and turned, shielding his eyes with his hands as he looked back over the old part of the city behind them. “We better hurry if we’re going to catch the best of the sunset.”

“Yeah, right.” He leapt up beside Killua again.

They were still walking close, even though the street was broad, not like the narrow pavements of the alleys they’d left behind where he could see all the different centuries in the buildings layered on top of one another. He loved how that made it feel like the town had always been here and would always remain, and that it was full of new things built on old foundations.

Here, climbing the stairs, the air brimmed with the scent of damp earth and jasmine, the occasional whiff of cigarettes and sweet pastries. They chatted about Shoot and Knuckle and his dogs that they’d left behind in Yorknew yesterday when they took the overnight train. When they reached the second landing, they veered to avoid a hawker selling candied nuts. Their hands brushed.

It was there, between them, like a warm breath in the air. Gon slipped his fingers between Killua’s. The tips of Killua’s ears turned pink as his fingers looped though Gon’s.

He was lost in the warmth of Killua's hand, in the hum of the cicadas pressing tightly in his ears, and his heart drummed, blocking out even that. Maybe that was why he didn’t hear them coming, even though there were five riders mounting the steps below, one after another. He didn’t notice until Killua seized his waist and spun him around to the low wall, out of the way. The scooters roared up the stairs ahead, weaving among and scattering the passersby. The riders, four males and one female, in their t-shirts and helmets, were confident and well-balanced. At the top, they swerved around the corner out of sight.

One of the men had yelled something at him and Killua. Gon hadn’t caught the words but he understood the derisive tone. Though Killua was staring at the ground, hiding his scowl, the darkness of his aura prickled Gon’s skin and he could see the turned down corners of Killua’s mouth. His fingers twisted. He wanted to change that, he wanted to kiss him until he felt the same joy Gon did when they were together, but this wasn’t the moment to try. He glanced up the steps, replaying the path of the scooters, feeling a kind of despair, as though something precious had just blinked out of existence.

“Fucking idiots.” Killua’s fingers cracked as he flexed them.

“I didn’t see them in time.”

“They tried to run you over.” He glowered darkly. “Lucky for them, I was in a good mood.”

“Did you catch what they were yelling?”

Killua paused and cast a scornful look up the stairs. “Nothing I care to repeat.”

The noise of the scooters had faded, but Killua shoved his hands deep in his pockets, maybe to hide what he’d done with his fingers, Gon thought. They sped up, jogging over cracked stones.

Traffic noise greeted them at the top and they slowed. Ahead, past a wide road, another walled garden covered the hill as far as Gon could see. To their left, the piazza they’d been seeking was thronging with people gathering for the sunset. A crowd lined the stone balustrade at the edge. Towering in the centre was a bronze statue shimmering with Nen--a young man, nude, grasping a slingshot over his shoulder. He faced over the town, an incredible jumble of terracotta rooftops and honey-coloured towers spreading through the haze towards blue hills.

Gon laughed in amazement as he turned to Killua. “Wow, this is great!”

Killua grinned, his face lit with the same excitement. “Yeah, this is totally worth it.” His eyes gleamed at a nearby stall. “Hey, they’ve got gelato!”

“But you’ve only just finished the last one…”

It was fine, except that Killua moved like no one else as he took off ahead of Gon, all angles sliding gracefully into one another, his muscles shifting tantalisingly through the opening in the back of his top, and somehow Gon’s feet wouldn’t work. Determined, he managed to catch up and insist on buying the gelato for both Killua and himself. Side by side, they circled the piazza in the setting sun, checking out the statue and the panorama beyond. Gon wondered if he’d only imagined that they’d held hands so fleetingly. Beside him, Killua’s nearest hand was now wrapped around his gelato cone, drips of creamy chocolate melting down his fingers.

Gon bit into his mango-flavoured scoop and bumped Killua’s shoulder. “What do you think of the statue, hmm?” As he contemplated a dull bronze thigh high above them, his mind drifted back to the original, which was made of white marble, pale like Killua. “I like the one we saw this morning better.”

"I like this one more.” Killua’s eyes returned from the statue to Gon. “I like the bronze.” His gaze slid down Gon’s arm, over Gon’s shorts and down his bare legs. Gon’s skin burned like heated metal. His white cotton shirt, new, caressed his skin as the breeze played with it, loose over his shorts, buttons open at the neck. Gelato cooled his tongue and slid down his throat.

Killua bit into his cone and his eyes came to rest on Gon’s.

Gon caught his breath. There was nothing _but_ those dusky-blue eyes. And the strands of Killua’s white hair drifting across them, the playful smile curving along his lips. How could he not catch Killua’s hip with his fingers, lightly, pulling him in? “Killua...” He bit  his lip, still not quite knowing where to start, “I want—” and then the world must have folded, they were even closer, and Killua’s gelato was leaning out of the way—

—as something bashed Gon’s hip, shoved violently between them and kept going—a _child_ , _screaming_ at the top of her lungs, and _another_ —a boy the same size.

“Hah!” Gon cried breathlessly, staring after them in wonder. He was now a whole leap away from Killua. _Fuck! Where did they even come from?_ “I—I. I think we should grab that space.” He gestured uselessly towards a gap in the crowd at the balustrade.

Killua was staring murderously after the two shrieking brats. “Right.” He shot a glare down at the melting puddle that a moment ago had been his gelato, then consumed the rest of the cone in two bites.

They fell into step towards the view.

 _Well, this_ is _what we came for_ , Gon told himself, but his stomach clenched. He should’ve just grabbed him and kissed him. Why hadn’t he? Why was he so hopeless at this? Killua was his best friend. How could he be so clumsy and feel so awkward? _I’m_ not _normally this awkward._

Maybe it was not getting enough sleep—he’d tossed and turned over this for months, when Killua wasn’t around. It had got to the point where Killua continually leaving him for whatever reason was torture. And last night, on the overnight train, he’d barely slept, though he’d tried not to let Killua, in the next berth, know. He missed him, so badly. He crunched into his waffle cone, then stared at the jagged mess left in his hand. Chucked it into the nearest bin.

“Gon.” Killua grabbed his arm and pulled him clear of a group taking selfies. “You ‘kay?”

“I’m fine.” He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled wryly at Killua. “Thanks.”

He needed to relax. It was okay if he didn’t get to tell him how he felt tonight. There’d be some other time. Maybe in a few weeks. Or maybe, another eight or nine months.

But, what if there wasn’t? _What if it’s always like this_? he wondered, as they angled through the crowd, past voices in many languages and groups surrounding tour guides. Past couples with their arms glued around each other’s waists. One couple with their lips locked and no space between them at all.

When they reached the balustrade, the sky was already dimming to the east. Gon tried to push everything from his mind. He leaned beside Killua on the broad metal capping. It was smooth and warm under his bare forearms, and he inhaled jasmine again as he looked over the pale olive trees and darker cypress to the dull red roofs and ochre walls of the buildings lining the river below. Through a haze of cloud above the horizon to his left, the molten sun was a molten ball that turned the river brilliant gold and softly gilded the edges of the towers and domes on the far side.

“There’s that bridge,” Killua pointed down the river, “where I got my first gelato.” He nudged Gon’s shoulder. “Wanna know why I keep buying more?”

“I know you love sweet things, Killua, that’s not news.”

“Mm. It’s just, when I really love something, and I know soon it won’t be there…I want as much of it as I can get right now.”

Gon licked the last mango smears from his fingers as he turned to Killua. Killua wasn’t watching the view. He was watching Gon.  

“Gon, I—I know you’re trying…” Killua's voice was low and soft. Beneath his brightly lit hair, his cheeks were flushed.

“You do?”

“I’d have to be blind…” Killua’s glance ran down Gon’s arm to his hand, which was clenched. Gon relaxed his fingers with an exhaled breath. “You keep trying. Even though things keep getting in the way.”

“Yeah. They do.”

“So… _who_ are you staring at, Freecss?”

Gon’s heart thudded. He forced himself to breathe as he laid his hand on Killua’s bicep. Killua’s skin was warm, he didn’t shrink away. Gon slid his hand up his shoulder. His voice, when it came, was an unsteady whisper. “My best friend.”

Who he loved. Who would never willingly hurt him.

He slipped his hand up further, beneath tousled white hair. The sun glowed on the tips of Killua’s lashes, then Gon could see nothing as he leaned into the warmth of Killua’s breath, and into the first brush of his lips. He could sense Killua’s smile—and then they were finding each other. All the sounds of the piazza were drowned by the rush in his ears. He buried his fingers in the soft waves of Killua’s hair. He could feel Killua’s hands on his hips, the pliant sway of his body into his own. He reached through his top, found the dip of his spine. Killua’s mouth was hot and sweet-tasting. Killua’s lips pulled at his, tugging breathy noises from both their throats.

Only when they separated enough to catch their breath, did he register the roar of motor scooters approaching and people screaming. He couldn’t take his eyes off Killua, couldn’t stop himself caressing him. He felt hot everywhere their hands and bodies touched. He didn’t think he’d ever stop touching him. Killua’s gaze fell back down to Gon’s mouth and past his shoulder in the direction of the disturbance. A smirk played across his lips.

“S’okay, Gon. I’ve got this.”

His hair, already radiant in the dying sun, filled with sparks. Gon pulled him back in and a burst of static hit his mouth as he kissed him again. He kissed into him deeply, and Killua kissed him back hard.

It took a while before he realised the noise behind them had stopped and immediately around them was silence. The crowd must have drawn away. He pulled back from Killua just a little, licking his lips. Through his lowered eyes, looking down past Killua’s cheekbones, he could see a satisfied smile. Dusk had settled in and the paled strands of Killua’s hair floated between them. The sun had dipped below the horizon, but the breeze was still warm across Gon’s shoulders and the scent of jasmine was more intoxicating than ever.

He caressed the corner of Killua’s mouth. “You rescued me, Killua.”

“Any time, Freecss.”

In Killua’s grin, a spark flared. Gon chased it with his tongue.

The five motor scooters lay abandoned behind them. Over the city, stars flickered into life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm ever so grateful for any kudos or comments.
> 
> And, tiny detail, just in case anyone notices. Bronze normally turns light green when it weathers, and darker brown where parts face downwards. But this statue has Nen that keeps it a dull bronze.


End file.
